Just bought a like new 04 MCS i want to do some "Minor" performance mods to start. I have had K&N air filters before and wanted to know if it makes any difference installing one on an MCS? I also wanted to know if you can hear a difference in the sound of the intake etc..

Thanks

 

I put a drop in before I changed to the Dinan intake. I could hear no difference and I didn't feel any difference in power either.

I can feel and hear the difference with the Dinan kit.

 

I'd say get a CAI if you want to change the air intake. Unless you want the "stock" appearance, you're going to get a better bang for your buck by investing the extra $100 or so.

 

If you're going for the stock appearance the Dinan system is nice without the JCW price tag.

 

Dinan System? Where can i look for that, what site?

Another question: Should i get the car JCW flashed at the dealer? What does that do for the car in terms of performance? And how much should it cost?

 

http://www.dinancars.com/Mini.asp?Se...0&Model=91#180

Dinan has been doing BMW authorized mods for many years now.

You don't "have" to flash the JCW at the dealer unless you want the flap to open and close. Many people here have just removed the flap so it's always open. Much cheaper than paying "1 hour" of labor at the stealerships. It only takes them a few minutes, but unless you have a good dealership, they'll want to change you an hour (at least Mountain View mini did and they charge like $150 / hour). You can buy the dinan system for $200 bucks and install it yourself in 30 minutes. Looks totally stock.

I live in CA so I was worried about carb approval. I think only JCW is carb approved, but my feeling in the dinan is so stock looking that the smog guys won't even notice I have an aftermarket intake. If you're not worried about carb approval, then you can also take a look at Alta intakes. (I'm keeping my original equipment in case I need to change it back to pass smog).

 

No.

Unless you have all of the JCW bits, the flash will do a lot more harm then good.

 

FWIW

I live in CA also. Here in Monterey there are many environmental-***** looking for any reason to get a car off the street.

The Dinan CAI (and other mods) are 49-50 state emissions legal. I just had the S1 package installed and I specifically asked about CARB and next year's smog test. I was assured the CAI, exhaust and ECU map will pass and I don't see why it wouldn't.

There are some smog testing stations that do an **** visual inspection and I would tend to think the "open" CAI (Alta for example) might fail for no other reason than it's not "stock looking"... regardless what it does or doesn't do to the emissions.

 

I had a foam drop in filter for about a year before i bought my CAI. I never noticed anything power or sound wise. They claim 2-3hp, but i don't suspect that you would notice anything that small. I don't think that I would spend the money on a drop-in again.

 

I think it depends on the vehicle. I bought the K&N originally for my mini cooper before the Dinan because when I did it on my old dodge durango I definetlely noticed an improvement. For the mini, I noticed no change. It depends on the vehicle and how well designed the stock system is.

I've done a drop in on my 04 4runner and also noticed no change in power, but I did see a slight improvement to gas mileage....

 

What is the FLAP? and how do i remove it?

 

The JCW intake has a flap that opens up at higher RPM. This gives you the boost when you engine needs it without having the noise at lower speeds and idle. Most people like the sound and don't feel the need to pay the dealer to reprogram the car so they remove the flap. I'm not sure exactly how it's done since I don't have the JCW intake. However, if you do a search on the boards I'm sure you can find it.